Chapter 101 The 101st Inn Lantern Festival
Yunyin smiled shyly, "It's just that Madam Lin heard you're a镖师 (bodyguard/escort) and often travel to the Western Regions, so she wanted to ask you for help." She blinked at Fu Wang, "If you can buy enough seeds, could you bring some back for her?"
Fu Wang patted her head, and seeing that she didn't object, he vigorously ruffled her hair and asked, "What did she do for you?"
Yunyin touched her hair, which Fu Wang had just ruffled, and smiled, "Hehe, she said she would give me three improved tools for free. With these tools, it will be much easier for us to collect cotton seeds."
Fu Wang stroked his chin and pondered. Seeing Yun Yin looking at him with starry eyes, he remained silent for a while before saying, "Alright, it's not impossible to bring it for her, but it won't be cheap."
It wasn't easy for them to travel to and from the Western Regions, and buying cotton seeds wasn't as easy as Yunyin had imagined. The wealthy people in the Western Regions didn't care about money at all. He had to use porcelain and tea to exchange for it. He didn't even tell Yunyin about this. But when bringing things for others, you naturally have to agree on a price.
He said to Yunyin, "I told Magistrate Cui that I would exchange the porcelain for the seeds, and he has already agreed. As for Madam Lin, let her use tea leaves instead. I will talk to her when she arrives."
Yunyin grabbed Fu Wang's hand excitedly and said, "Fu Wang, thank you so much."
Fu Wanghui took her hand and said, "Alright, let's eat first. Aren't you hungry?"
Yunyin touched her stomach; it was indeed flat. She beckoned Fang He over, and smelling the aroma on the table, she knew without asking which restaurant Fu Wang had bought. "Manxiangju is open? I'll pay them a visit later and bring them some things. They closed on the last day of the lunar year, I heard they went back to their hometown. I didn't expect them to be open today, and they didn't even send me a message. Aren't they selling roast duck and grilled duck today?"
Fu Wang served her a bowl of rice and handed Fang He a small bowl. He looked at Yun Yin and said, "You have a really keen sense of smell. You could tell I bought their food just by smelling it."
"The shopkeeper said that he opened today at the invitation of the county magistrate. The main purpose is to set up lanterns outside, and other things are secondary. So they only prepared a few signature dishes. Roast duck and the like are not served yet. They will probably contact you tomorrow."
Yunyin picked up a chicken leg for Fang He, and also picked up a piece for Fu Wang, and finally picked up one for herself. She ate the eight-treasure chicken while shaking her head and said to Fu Wang, "I see."
The Eight Treasure Chicken was still as delicious as ever, fragrant but not greasy. After dipping it in salt and pepper and eating a piece, I said to Fu Wang, "Their Eight Treasure Chicken has a unique aroma. I can tell just by smelling it. I don't know how they make it. I've tried several times, but I can't make it taste the same."
"There are indeed many capable people. To be able to keep a shop in one place for a long time, one must have some skill."
Seeing that Fang He was also enjoying her meal, she advised her, "You should also try more of the food made by other people, so that you can learn from their strengths and make up for your weaknesses."
Fang He put down her chopsticks and bowl and said respectfully, "Master, I understand."
Fu Wang ate a piece of bamboo shoot and said to Yun Yin, "Try their bamboo shoots; they seem to be stir-fried in an iron wok as well."
Yunyin didn't need to taste it to know that the bamboo shoots were stir-fried in an iron wok. She picked up a piece to taste and nodded, saying, "The heat was just right. The bamboo shoots weren't overcooked at all; they're very tender."
While eating, Fu Wang suddenly said, "It seems that more and more people will be using iron pots in the future."
Yunyin didn't care at all. She laughed and said, "It's only a matter of time. You think only Manxiangju uses iron pots? Other shops will follow suit, and even wealthy families will use iron pots more and more often."
Thinking that more people would use iron pots and soybean oil in the future, she thought for a moment and said, "Next year we should plant more soybeans and press them for oil." Sesame oil is indeed very fragrant, but the amount of oil is too small, making it too expensive for cooking. Soybean oil is cheaper, so she plans to plant more soybeans next year.
As she ate her lunch, she thought of another crop: when did rapeseed first appear? Did Dazhao have this plant?
When she gets back, she'll check the records in the book. If she can find rapeseed, she'll never lack oil again. Moreover, rapeseed flowers bloom in vast fields, which is very beautiful. Even if she only plants a small patch, it will still be an extremely beautiful sight.
Having made up her mind, Yunyin stopped thinking about it and quickly finished her meal.
After finishing their meal, Fu Wang went back to return the bowls and chopsticks, while she and Fang He sat down to rest. It was lunchtime, and there were far fewer people shopping. Even those who were there had gone to East Street, where there was not only the county school but also restaurants and teahouses, among which Manxiangju was a famous one.
Manxiangju used to be famous for its chickens, but after Yunyin made ducks, their ducks became famous as well. Even many people who didn't like ducks fell in love with them. Yunyin stroked her chin and wondered if she should sell the roast duck recipe to Gao Pengxing.
Roast duck is indeed more popular in the county town. In Yunyin's shop, roast duck sells better. Apart from the wealthy people in the county, only the managers of merchant caravans can afford roast duck. Others will not buy it.
If she sold the recipe to Gao Pengxing, he could make more roast ducks, and perhaps even more people would eat them. This year, she also planned to order some ducks from the villagers. If there was a greater demand for ducks, perhaps those people would even be eager to raise them.
The more she thought about it, the better she felt it was. Gao Pengxing had been selling ducks for so long and knew the value of this recipe. It shouldn't be a problem for her to set a higher price.
When Fu Wang returned, he saw Yun Yin looking excited and asked curiously, "What are you thinking about that makes you so happy?"
Yunyin wanted to say something, but looking at the people coming and going on the street, she didn't say it. She smiled slightly and said, "I'll tell you when we get back."
Fu Wang shook his head. "So mysterious? Okay, let's talk about it when we get home."
In the afternoon, even more people came to stroll around. Yunyin looked at the flow of people and said to Fu Wang, "It seems there are a lot of people here. After the Lantern Festival, I will find someone to reserve this stall and send someone to set up a stall to sell snacks."
Fu Wangye glanced at the bustling crowd. "Who do you want to send? Do you have any suitable candidates?"
"What do you think about having Wu Zhuang and Zheng Guilan come?"
Before Fu Wang could ask any more questions, Yunyin continued, "I would definitely not feel at ease if Guilan came alone. Zhang Lin is also in charge of selling breakfast, so it's not convenient for him either. Only Wu Zhuang and Wu Qiang can come. I think Wu Zhuang is stronger in martial arts, so I would feel more at ease having him protect Guilan."
He didn't care about Yunyin's arrangements for Wu Zhuang and Wu Qiang, but only asked Yunyin, "Zheng Guilan is setting up a stall, what about the work in the shop?"
Even though he didn't care much, he knew that Zheng Guilan had a lot of work to do every day, and it was because of her that Yunyin didn't have to worry about those chores.
Yunyin looked at Fu Wang and said, "Let's recruit two people from Linjiang Village. Ma He and Zhu Yu both asked me about this last time. It just so happens that I need to recruit people anyway, so let's try recruiting them first."
After listening to this, Fu Wang thought about it carefully for a moment and nodded, saying, "That's right. With Sun Lizheng and Sister Qian here, there's no need to worry about them causing trouble. They won't stay overnight either. It's best to use them."
Seeing that Fu Wang also agreed, Yunyin said happily, "Then I'll talk to Qian Xing tomorrow and ask them what they think. If it's okay, I'll hire the two of them. I'll pay them 300 coins and provide them with lunch. I think they'll be willing."
After arranging the snack sales, Yunyin saw that Fanghe was managing the work on her own, so she continued to discuss matters with Fuwang while waiting for the lantern festival that evening.
That evening, Yunyin and the others ate at Luo Family Lady's restaurant. Now that Luo Man had set off for Mianzhou and Song Shi and the others had gone to the capital, Yunyin's only friend here was Fu Wang. Wang Yu was still in Beijiang County, but he mentioned that there was also a lantern festival in Beijiang County, which he would attend, and he had even invited Yunyin to go with him.
As Yunyin watched the lanterns gradually light up, she said to Fu Wang, "Let's light our lanterns too."
Fu Wang took out a tinderbox and lit the candle in the lantern. As the lantern lit up, the whole area was enveloped in light.
The largest lanterns in Long'an County this year are displayed on the street near the county government office. Fu Wang had seen them before when he went to buy food. There was a tall lantern tree there, covered with lanterns, which was very impressive.
Upon hearing this, Yunyin said, "Then after we finish our business, how about we go and see that lantern tree?"
Fu Wang naturally agreed; he never refused Yun Yin's requests.
The crowds at night were even greater than during the day, with people jostling each other as they walked toward East Street. Fortunately, there were plenty of constables maintaining order, and even hangers-on from nearby villages and towns came to help. Yunyin even saw several familiar hangers-on; they used to be from Pingxi Town, and she never expected them to be here today.
Just as Yunyin was lost in thought, a couple came over with a child. The child pointed to a lantern on Yunyin's stall and said, "Mom, I want that lantern."
Yunyin looked over at the sound and saw that he was pointing to a lifelike fish lantern. The couple also saw that the stall was selling pastries. After thinking for a moment, they nodded and said, "Okay, I'll let your father guess."
The riddle on the lantern wasn't difficult. Yunyin read it aloud to them: "A small red jar, filled with red dumplings. Eat the red dumplings, and spit out white pearls."
The man guessed the answer after only a moment's thought, and exclaimed excitedly, "Is it an orange?"
Yunyin looked at the answer and saw that it was indeed an orange. She smiled and said, "Congratulations, you got it right."
She looked at the two of them and asked, "Would you like lanterns or snacks?"
The child was initially interested in the fish-shaped lamp that was swimming around, but when he heard that there were also snacks, he tugged at his parents and said, "Mom, I want both of them."
His mother was initially reluctant to agree, but before she could even speak, his father had already agreed, saying, "Okay, I'll buy you some snacks."
Yunyin packed the pastries for the couple and handed the lantern to the child. He happily held his mother's hand and jumped around, while the woman scolded her husband for spoiling the child so much.
Looking at the happy couple, Yunyin was a little lost in thought. Fu Wang, who was standing next to her, carefully held Yunyin's hand and said, "We will be just as happy as this in the future."
Yunyin snapped out of her daze and glared at Fu Wang reproachfully, "Shameless."
Fu Wang wanted to say something more, but then someone else came to guess the riddle, so he stopped talking and joined in the work.
When Yunyin had sold out of all her pastries, there weren't many lanterns left either. She gave one of the last few lanterns to Fang He, kept one for herself, and when she saw that Fu Wang didn't want it, she gave them to other passersby.
After packing up and storing her belongings at another shop, Yunyin was about to go see the lanterns when Fu Wang came over with a lantern.
It was a lamp depicting a beautiful woman, her figure radiant and captivating in the firelight, every smile and gesture of hers enchanting.
"This..." Yunyin only reacted after he took the lantern from her hand. Holding the beauty lantern, she was speechless and said, "Did you paint this yourself?"
The reason Yunyin knew it was painted by Fu Wang was because the beauty depicted was her, the clothes were a ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress) that she had never worn, but the eyebrows and eyes were hers.
Fu Wang touched his nose and said, "I haven't been learning for very long, so my drawing isn't very good. But the spirit is still there, so it's presentable."
"Today is the first Lantern Festival I've spent with you. I will spend many more Lantern Festivals with you in the future, and I hope you won't find it annoying."
How could Yunyin possibly dislike it? She held the beauty lamp tightly in her hand and after a long while said, "I like it very much, thank you."
Upon hearing this, Fu Wang smiled and said, "Then let's go see the lanterns."
Fang He had been waiting nearby. After her master finished speaking, she stepped forward and said, "Master, why don't I go to the shop and wait for you?"
Fang He was also very perceptive. Today was the Lantern Festival, a perfect day for her master and future master to go out and have fun, so she decided not to disturb them.
Yunyin shook her head and said, "How can I let you stay here? Let's go together." She took Fanghe's hand and walked towards East Street. Seeing this, Fu Wang gave the lantern in his hand to a passerby, took the beauty lantern from Yunyin's hand and said, "I'll hold this for you first. There are many people on the road, so I'll hold your hand so we don't get separated."
Yunyin nodded, took Fu Wang's hand, and the three of them walked towards the county government office.
There were many people going to see the lanterns. Fortunately, the street where the county government was located was wide, and there was a large space in front of the county government. The flower tree was placed in the middle of the county government, and thousands of lanterns bloomed at the same time, just like stars falling. It really lived up to Xin Qiji's poem, "The east wind releases thousands of flowers at night, and blows down stars like rain."
Looking at Fu Wang standing beside her, Yunyin had never been so certain that he was the one, the one who could accompany her for a lifetime.
After watching the lanterns, Yunyin gave Gao Pengxing the New Year's gift she had prepared, and then asked him to meet her at the Yunlai Inn the next day, as she had something to discuss with him.
The three of them walked out of East Street together. Yunyin was still holding Fu Wang's hand, not knowing what to say. Fang He, on the other hand, chattered on, "Master, Master, these lanterns are so beautiful. I've never seen such beautiful lanterns before. I wonder if I'll be able to come and see them again next year."
Yunyin's attention was diverted by her words, and she laughed and said, "Okay, next year your mother and Linzi will bring you here, so your whole family can celebrate the Lantern Festival together."
Fang He pursed her lips and smiled, "Perhaps Uncle Zhang prefers to celebrate the Lantern Festival with my mother." She looked at Fu Wang and whispered, "Just like Master."
Being so close, Yunyin naturally heard it. She blushed and glanced at Fu Wang, who remained calm and led Yunyin toward the shop where she had left her luggage.
It was quite late when they got home. There was no curfew in the county town that day, and everyone else was still in town watching the lanterns. They heard that the magistrate would set off fireworks later, but unfortunately, Yunyin had to go back; she had many things to do tomorrow, so she regretfully missed the fireworks.
Fu Wang seemed to know what Yun Yin was thinking and said, "I'll come with you to see the fireworks next year, just the two of us, without anyone else."
Yunyin smiled and pursed her lips. "Okay, next year when my shop is on the right track, I'll have time to come see the fireworks."
When they returned, the moon was already setting in the west. At this time, two lanterns at the entrance of the inn were fluttering in the wind, as if welcoming them home.
Those in the courtyard seemed to hear the sound of a carriage. Wu Zhuang came out of the courtyard and saw the group. He quickly went to help, saying, "Miss Yun, Brother Fu, you're back."
He helped carry the things down, and when he noticed Yunyin's attention on the horses in the stable, he quickly said, "A group of scholars who came to the capital arrived this evening. Linzi arranged for them to stay in the courtyard, and they should be resting now."
Hearing that someone was coming to stay, Yunyin was very happy. She looked at the horses and said to Wu Zhuang, "Okay, I understand. Take good care of them. We're going to rest now. Thank you for your hard work."
Wu Zhuang said in a low voice, "You're too kind, Lady Yun."
The group moved quietly. Zheng Guilan seemed to hear the noise and came out of the room. She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw Fang He return safely. She said to Yun Yin, "Madam Yun, there is still hot water in the kitchen. If you are hungry, there is also dough. Zhang Lin was afraid that you would be hungry at night, so he prepared some dough and left it there."
Yunyin took the hot water that Fu Wang brought and said to Zheng Guilan, "We're not hungry. We ate a lot of snacks tonight. You should go and rest too."
After saying their goodbyes, the group went to wash up and rest. Although Yunyin went to bed late, she still got up early the next morning.
The little ones also got up very early and started exercising. Yunyin joined them. After they finished exercising, she heard the sound of reading coming from the courtyard, along with occasional discussions.
Zheng Guilan returned from the courtyard and said to Yunyin, "My lady, those scholars have woken up. They want a bowl of plain noodles for breakfast, saying they want to eat lunch earlier so they can set off sooner."
Yunyin tied on an apron and asked her, "Are you a student going to the capital for the imperial examination?"
Zheng Guilan nodded and said, "That's right, they are students taking the imperial examination."
Yunyin nodded to indicate that she understood. Before Zhang Lin went to the front to sell breakfast, she went to the kitchen to prepare noodles.
Even though she hadn't made noodles in a long time, she was still very skilled at it when she made them again. She quickly pulled the noodles and put them in the pot. The group of students had traveled a long way and were going to the capital to take the imperial examination, so they needed to eat something light. She didn't add a lot of lard, and she didn't even use broth. She just used the water from cooking the noodles.
This kind of plain noodles can't compare to noodles with broth, but this simple noodle dish is just right for this group of people. She also added more vegetables so that they could eat more comfortably.
Sure enough, the scholars enjoyed the noodles and were looking forward to lunch. Seeing how good Yunyin's cooking was, they thought for a moment and asked, "Wife, do you have any food suitable for the road?"
The man rubbed his stomach and sighed, "It's still quite a distance from here to the capital. If we happen to come across a post station, that would be fine, or at least an inn like this, where we can at least get a hot meal. The problem is that if we get delayed on the road and don't find a suitable place to stay, then we'll have to camp out in the wild."
“We only brought some dry food, which was hard and unpalatable. I was thinking that if the shop had any food suitable for the road, we could buy some and take it with us.”
The others nodded in agreement. Even if there was no suitable food for the road, they still needed to replenish their rations. The innkeeper here could make even a simple bowl of noodles so delicious, so the rations must be good too.
Yunyin hadn't expected them to want to buy food. After thinking about it carefully, she said, "I wonder if you need fried rice?"
She took out the fried rice stored in the storeroom to show everyone. This was the leftover rice from when she fried it for Cheng Yong before, and seeing that others liked it too, she fried some more later.
They didn't eat the fried rice to make tea or water; they ate it as a snack. Yunyin also liked to eat it as a snack, and would grab a handful of fried rice to eat when she had nothing to do. She pointed out some fried rice and handed it to them, saying, "Try it and see if this works."
The group looked at each other, took a spoonful, and tasted it. It was crispy and sweet, with a rich aroma of roasted rice. Even though no sugar was added, it had a subtle sweetness.
One of the students said, "It's indeed quite suitable for eating on the road."
Yunyin smiled and continued to introduce to them, "Besides eating it alone, you can also soak it in hot water and add a little sugar. It tastes pretty good. If you can cook some soup on the way, adding fried rice will make it even more filling."
The more they listened, the more they liked it. They nodded repeatedly and said, "Okay, we'll take this fried rice. Is there anything else?"
Yunyin thought of the basket of yams she brought back, which was a New Year's gift from Gao Pengxing. They were grown by the people in their village. Yams can be used to make many delicious dishes, but if you want to eat them on the road, you can only grind them into powder.
She didn't have many yams, not enough to make yam powder for one person, but if she mixed them with other grains to make multigrain powder, she could make a lot. She roasted black rice, black beans, red beans, and sesame seeds in an oven, then ground them into powder using a stone mill. This multigrain powder was nutritionally balanced and filling.
Yunyin thought about it for a long time after Cheng Yong and the others left before she remembered it. It was because she didn't eat this kind of thing often, so she didn't think of it for a while. Later, when she was frying sesame seeds, she thought of making multigrain powder. She originally planned to make it before Cheng Yong and the others set off, but she didn't expect to meet the people who were going to the capital for the imperial examination first.
She told the group about the food, and they all nodded and said, "Then we'll do as you say, madam. We'll also ask for some multigrain powder. We'll have to trouble you again, madam."
Yunyin took the two taels of deposit and said to the group, "Don't worry, I'll go make it for you right now. I can make quite a lot of multigrain powder, and with the fried rice, it should be enough for you to eat on the road."
Upon hearing this, the others all replied, "We will follow our wife's arrangements."
After making the arrangements with them, Yunyin got up and went back to the kitchen to prepare. Upon hearing this, Fu Wang went early in the morning to clean the stone mill that Yunyin usually used to grind things. Yunyin only needed to roast the grains before grinding them.
Actually, five-grain powder is not made from five kinds of grains, but from a mixture of various grains. The grains included in each merchant's five-grain powder are different. Yunyin mainly chose an ingredient that includes yam and four other grains.
Other types of rice and beans can be simply stir-fried and ground into powder. However, yam powder requires steaming the yam first, then mashing it into a paste, drying it at a low temperature in an oven, and then grinding it into powder.
There were too many things to stir-fry, so Yunyin didn't need to come over and do it all by herself. She called Feng Hai to stir-fry together. Black rice is the easiest to cook, so Yunyin quickly stir-fried the black rice and handed it over to Fu Wang and the others to grind into powder.
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